So, instead of installing unbalanced jacks on the board, i just wired up some cables that did the job instead, works fine and is still nice and quiet.

Also, popped open the VU meters to see what the story was on the lights not working.

Tested the voltage on the left one, 23.4v. Seems only that one was blown because the right one turned on, which was great so that i could try to match the color and brightness with the original somewhat.

Put a 1W 390ohm on there and it looks pretty close. Not the same peachy color as the original, but not too bad. I'm experimenting with putting a little red cellophane on top of it to accommodate.

The 1W heats up a little, but i tested it with some thin plastic and also the VU cover pressed against it and no problems.

For those that haven't seen this, the original light is that piece of nearly-transparent plastic tube you see between the top alligator clips. Called a grain of wheat or something? Anyway, the only places i found that had them were either $3 or $6 each. So in addition to their life expectancy, and Jim Williams words of "you'll never have to do this again" ringing in my ears, i went LED.